Archbishop Lori points to Pope Francis’ message, stresses importance of protecting environment

Archbishop William E. Lori urged the faithful in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to follow Pope Francis’ recent plea to take care of the environment, noting steps the archdiocese has taken to reduce harmful impacts on the climate.

In an Oct. 10 message emailed to parishioners of the archdiocese, Archbishop Lori wrote, “The Holy Father wants us to understand we have no time to waste to address the devastating impacts that will follow the impending melting of icecaps, increasing severity of storms systems and irreversible damage to life-sustaining ecosystems such as our own Chesapeake Bay.”

The pope released his new apostolic exhortation “Laudate Deum” (“Praise God”) Oct. 4 as a follow-up to his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home.” The exhortation’s publication coincided with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology, whose famous canticle inspired the title of “Laudato Si’.”

Though only about one-fifth the length of “Laudato Si’” (which it references extensively), the exhortation’s message is even more urgent, since “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point,” Pope Francis wrote. “Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community.”

The text reiterates key messages that have resonated throughout Pope Francis’ papacy – among them, concern for the marginalized, care for creation, human ecology and a “synodal” approach to resolving global problems.

With “the effects … borne by the most vulnerable people,” the issue of climate change is “one intimately related to the dignity of human life,” he said.

Archbishop Lori noted some of the steps the archdiocese is taking to combat climate change – reducing carbon emissions by operating a solar field that powers the Catholic Center, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, all in Baltimore. The archdiocese also has invited the Baltimore Tree Trust and other environmental groups to plant more than 1,000 trees on archdiocesan property.

The archbishop said, “(T)he Holy Father speaks to each of us and asks us to consider what each of us can do for the benefit of all of us.”

He encouraged parish and school communities to install rain gardens and bioswales to reduce runoff and eliminate any unnecessary impervious surfaces. 

Many Catholic institutions in the region have done just that. 

• At Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, students experience hands-on environmental awareness in an Advanced Placement environmental science course with a service-learning component.
• At Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Essex, a project transformed school and parish grounds. With grants and guidance from Gunpowder Valley Conservatory, the school and church installed two rain gardens, six retention ponds and one bayscape. They also planted 10 native trees during a project that started in 2018.
• The Catholic High School of Baltimore is a certified Maryland Green School with a Green School Club. Students swung into action recently when Baltimore City stopped making recycling collections for institutions. With recyclables piling up because of the pandemic, Catholic High students found alternative ways to recycle what would otherwise go to landfills.
• Loyola University Maryland recently unveiled several initiatives that promote Pope Francis’ environmental cause. The North Baltimore campus initiated climate-action and energy-management plans and constructed a new green facility, the Miguel B. Fernandez Family Center. The university also sponsors a community-focused farmers’ market and several other environmental-education initiatives. Loyola is pushing to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
• The School Sisters of Notre Dame and students from NDP encouraged shoppers to utilize reusable bags, handing out cloth bags sewn by the sisters.

“A great opportunity is before us, and ‘Laudate Deum’ offers a roadmap,” Archbishop Lori wrote. “We each can do our part to reject practices that exploit our natural resources, practice environmentally responsible behavior, and take a broader perspective that recognizes the interconnectivity of every person.”

OSV News contributed to this story.

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

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